The Weekly Wrap: Aug. 7 - Aug. 13

Top Story

The Weekly Wrap walks readers through the last seven days in
MMA, recapping and putting into context the week's top story,
important news and notable quotes.

Top Story

In one of the most dramatic bouts in the history of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, Anderson
Silva narrowly held his perch atop the sport after Chael Sonnen
turned a crowd predisposed to hate him into a supportive frenzy,
hitting Silva more times in one fight than the middleweight
champion has been hit in his 11-fight UFC career. The bout, which
appears to have exceeded all expectations from a business
perspective, created a groundswell of calls for a rematch.

For the first time in Octagon history at UFC
117 on Aug. 7, a titleholder pulled off a fifth-round finish
after dropping four rounds to the challenger. With Sonnen grinding
shots in guard, Silva seized right wrist control and sprung a
triangle/armbar after 23 minutes of nail-biting action to coax the
tap, a finish quickly dubbed “The Immaculate Submission.” Silva,
who had action film star Stephen Seagal in his corner, came into
the final frame down 40-34, 40-35 and 40-36 on the judges’
scorecards. The performance earned him an additional $120,000 in
the form of bonuses for Submission of the Night and Fight of the
Night. Silva forced the UFC’s hand, as the sub bonus was firmly in
the grip of Matt Hughes,
who earlier put Ricardo
Almeida away with a Dave
Schultz-esque front headlock choke.

As impossible as it may have seemed, Sonnen fought as well as he
talked. He came out for each round charging to the center to take
away the lanky Brazilian's range. Sonnen out-struck Silva in the
first, buckling his knees at one point with a punch combination,
and grinded out the next three rounds after seizing opportunities
to get Silva horizontal. From the top, Sonnen had Silva looking
lethargic and largely unable to maneuver from the bottom. Sonnen
kept busy, using strikes that, though they left Silva's face
mark-free, prevented stand-ups and secured rounds. Silva appeared
to be looking for a standup.

Sonnen landed a total of 289 strikes in the fight, more than the
208 shots Silva had absorbed in his entire UFC career, according to
CompuStrike. The site determined the tally was the most for any UFC
fight it has recorded. FightMetric tabbed Sonnen landing 320 times,
the second most all-time strikes landed behind the 355 landed in
the plodding 36-minute Royce Gracie
vs. Ken
Shamrock fight at UFC
5. With the win, Silva extended to 12 his record for longest
winning streak in UFC history and to seven his record for most
title defenses. Silva said he injured his rib a week before the
fight training with Satoshi
Ishii and that doctors advised him against competing. As a
result, Silva’s manager said he didn’t train the week before the
fight and didn’t corner Mark Munoz on
Aug. 1.

The main event conclusion begged for a rematch, but UFC brass and
Silva's camp didn't seem 100 percent behind the idea. Dana White
said it was an option. Silva’s jiu-jitsu coach, Ramon Lemos, told
Tatame that Silva won’t be ready to return until February or March
2011. Sonnen began the push in the post-fight news conference,
joking that a Silva comment in Portuguese translated into him
agreeing to do “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show as a coach
against Sonnen to build the rematch. Later in the week, Sonnen told
ESPN’s “MMA Live” that he expects to fight before Silva’s return,
but said the Brazilian’s return will be against him. Vitor
Belfort, a perennial contender who’s sat on the shelf for a
year, told MMAPrime.tv that he won’t wait for Silva to return to
the cage.

It appears the numbers are there to justify a rematch. While not
citing a precise number, White said the indicators of how the show
would do were "insane" and that the event would do a "really big
number.” The fight ignited the Internet; search terms related to
the fight were top trending topics on Twitter as late as Sunday
afternoon, mileage rarely seen for even the biggest UFC
pay-per-views. The Wrestling Observer reported about early
estimates around 1 million buys, the highest for any show headlined
by Silva. Oddly, the Spike TV premiere of a “Countdown” hype
special drew a low number, 409,000 viewers, but that rating is not
always a strong correlation to big pay-per-view numbers. UFC 117
drew 12,971 fans to the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., the UFC's
debut in the city, for a $1.56 million live gate.

Alves lost more than just a title opportunity. He was fined 20
percent of his purse -- 10 percent to Fitch -- for coming in a
half-pound overweight and declining to take the rest of the weight
off because of the time it would take. Dana White urged post-fight
that Alves move to middleweight. Alves told MMAJunkie.com he’s
hiring nutritionist Mike Dolce to
move in with him eight weeks out from fights to help him diet. He
also said 185-pound fighters are too big for him.

Fitch was all over Alves in the fight, getting takedowns and tying
up Alves’ arms on the mat to keep him down. Asked if he was
prepared to face teammate Josh
Koscheck if he defeats Georges
St. Pierre in December, Fitch dodged by citing his focus on his
upcoming wedding. The bachelor party was Friday in Las Vegas.

Dos Santos put 138 strikes on Nelson, according to FightMetric,
landed all manner of uppercuts and body shots in sealing the win.
Nelson won fans by surviving the barrage and on several occasions
returning fire with stiff overhand rights. Nelson told ESPN’s “MMA
Live” that he’ll be undergoing knee surgery and was interested in
fighting Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira next.

Dos Anjos’ wife told Tatame.com that he underwent surgery on his
jaw, which was broken in two places by a Guida punch in the first
round and aggravated in the third when Guida pushed his shoulder
into it while on top.

Struve secured the Knockout of the Night bonus for his
come-from-behind knockout, the sole prelim to make air on the
pay-per-view. Hazelett reportedly will drop to 155 pounds after his
loss. Saunders announced on Facebook that the UFC cut him following
his defeat, with the company urging him to improve his wrestling
and jiu-jitsu.